Shakespeare Plays

This is a list of all of Shakespeare’s plays. Only a few of his plays can be accurately dated; however, thanks to in-play references, theatre records and other historical records we can get a rough idea of when each play was written and performed. This list is ordered by these estimated dates. His plays developed and matured throughout his professional life. He began very lyrical, sticking mainly to the basic rhythm of blank verse. His later plays are more complex and the rhythm is often broken and the metre changes readily.

Make sure, when reading Shakespeare’s plays, you circle words you don’t understand and look them up in a dictionary (Shakespeare’s Words by David Crystal is a great resource). Shakespeare is almost like a foreign language and the more you look up words and study his plays the better you get at understanding, speaking and performing his marvellous text. Being well versed in Shakespeare is essential for any actor.